Usually when we see so-called luxury items, they're often fairly standard products that have just been plated in gold or covered in crystals--serving only to make them ugly, as well as expensive. A distinct exception, however, is the work coming from Russia's innovative Gresso.

The company came out of nowhere last fall with a stunning phone made of gold and African Blackwood, generating a lot of interest but offering scant details about features and availability. But now it's preparing to release an MP3 player made with similarly rare materials, and Gresso isn't being quite so secretive this time around.

The "Symphonia" line is scheduled for release this spring, made with the same 200-year-old wood as Gresso's phone with accents in 18k white or pink gold, according to Gizmag. Even more distinctive is its shape, a tetrahedral case that measures only about 1.5 by 1.5 inches and less than half an inch thick, with a patented coating that the company says is as hard as diamond.

Now for the price: The four Symphonia models range from $4,000 to $6,500. And that's for just 1GB of memory. But if you think about them as pieces of fine jewelry, it may not be as bad as it sounds.